Monday, May 16, 2011

my short poster moment of fame

A special thank-you to Robert Redford for this post coming up later. (have I been watching too many nightly news programs or what?)

Back in the 1970’s I joined the US Air Force. Readers that have followed this blog and have good memories might recall a couple of earlier posts about my service. (if you are interested and why wouldn’t you be here’s one of the posts)

After I was commissioned, I had a brief moment of fame. The US Air Force asked me to pose for a poster. I don’t recall how many shots were taken but I never saw any but the one used. At least I did get a copy of the poster. For some reason, my wife didn’t think it fit our living room decor or any room’s decor for that matter. I never asked about the garage but on second thought the temperature changes might not be good for it.

It was a posed picture. Yes we were communication engineers (the AF Communication Command which was replaced by a different organization some years back used the poster) and the picture was in our actual engineering lab. The equipment you see me operating was not a piece of equipment I used in my daily job.

I traveled often during that assignment and I do recall seeing the poster hanging up in a Comm Squadron I visited once. Nobody asked for an autograph.

So why am I thanking Robert Redford? (you have heard of him right?)

Just yesterday, my wife was relaxing with a rerun of “The Way We Were”.

We weren’t that way but Bobby was looking very dashing in his navy uniform. I don’t know if it still holds (probably for a navy seal) but at one time a good fitting military uniform would increase a guy’s chances with the ladies.

If you don’t believe me watch “An Officer and a Gentleman”. I consider this a much better movie than the other one. It really captures the officer training very well. But I must remind you I was in the Air Force not the Navy.

A side note - I don’t know if the policy has changed in recent years but we were not allowed to travel in our fatigues. Now I see generals getting interviewed in their fatigues. I’m not saying anything is wrong with it, just that’s not the way it was before.

So thinking of this man-in-uniform thing, I went looking for my poster. Did I mention it was not hanging up anywhere in the house? I found it, unrolled it, and took a picture of it to share with you. Thanks Bobby (you know celebrities call each other by nicknames right?)

Oh, the other lieutenant had a better shot taken of him. I wish I could remember his name. I would look him up and send him a link to this.

≈≈≈≈≈

Here’s another moment in fame story.

Mark Zuckerburg finally gets his facebook account back. (if the name is not recognizable to you then this story is not even interesting)

Yes, FB dropped Mark Zuckerburg’s account. Sound strange or confusing? This story is about the older Mark Zuckerburg who is an Indiana bankruptcy attorney. Here’s his site.

Bearman thanks for getting your comment up here. If you come back you'll see another comment from "lisleman testing" that I just did to check DISQUS from the Safari browser. I have a mac and have not used IE for a few years."Bearack" that's a good one. Hey I read a story about a pun book. http://www.npr.org/2011/05/15/136253845/not-jest-for-pun-a-surprising-history-of-wordplaySo in the story is the pun - Bears go barefoot!

Hehe Lisleman, I wonder how many young ladies had the poster hanging in their bedrooms?

Perhaps your agent can approach the Navy with the idea of doing a re-shoot for some-or-or-other reason, only this time you charge big bucks ... or else, demand royalties because, after all, the poster is all over the internet now ...

Just read that great post of yours about reaching for the moon.As much as I tell other bloggers about DISQUS you would think I'm a rep. I'm not. I noticed that you answer the comments and with DISQUS I find doing that just easier to do. You should try it.

I grew up in a military family, so I have not particularly positive feelings about men in uniforms. I have dated several Navy men but more recently when I did have a relationship with a Navy guy it was an uncomfortable point of disconnect since I'm a Quaker.

Thanks for linking to that older post - I find the whole military culture to be quite fascinating. I guess it's the sociologist in me. I briefly dated an Air Force guy what feels like a million years ago. I have to admit, it was the uniform that initially drew me in.

Thanks - There are some unique things about the military but in so many ways it is mixed in with what is going in the "civilian" world. The corporate world sure takes a number of concepts from the military such as "war rooms".Thanks for admitting to the uniform attraction.

Pretty cool. Yeah the other guy is totally modeling. And I can tell you're smizing (it's smiling with your eyes, a term Tyra (the model) came up with.) I remember watching An Officer and A Gentleman a couple times when I was younger, it definitely was a good movie. It's funny that you say your experience was like that because when I think of that movie I think of how accurate it probably is.

I watched that movie a few times after it came out (tapes back then). I don't know if many noticed it or not but the movie shows very well the psychological games they play on the cadets. Things would get tough in training and the instructor would say "why don't you just quit" or "just give up". It would make you even madder but I soon realized a few of the subtle parts of the game and made it through.thanks for the feedback.

about lisleman

I was not born lisleman. I moved there. I was born a baby. I started breathing air more than sixty years ago. Oh if you happen to read a news report about
"Lisle man" please notice my moniker is one word. I'm not responsible
for my crazy neighbors.

Sha la la lala live for today.

One of the best things of my life
(everyone's I think) is learning. I like science especially physics.
Don't ever stop asking why because there is an endless amount to
learn. Two of our daughters became teachers. This and our grandkids keeps the learning idea alive for me.

I've accepted that we all have different talents. Most of time this works well for everyone unless your talent is illegal.

Blog on and don't lose that linky feeling.

Does anyone read this far down on these things? I should hide a secret password to a bank account with some money in it. Anyone have a spare bank account with a little cash?